Salut to You!

The world of online shopping is virtually boundless. Many companies offer exclusively curated collections tailored to your specific tastes, and some even conjure up limited-quantity "micro collections" at an affordable price point so that you can throw on an ensemble without a second thought. 

While I have shopped the former for a number of years, I have recently ventured to try the latter. Enter, Popbasic. I first learned of this company through some of the blogs that I read, and after looking at their last two collections, I took the plunge with Salut.

They got me with the name. I am a Francophile (France, not James Franco, although he is super cool), and an iconic striped tee with long sleeves makes me feel like the chic chick I've always wanted to be.

To complete the look, they've added a pretty leather clutch in a neutral hue, and a simple gold chain necklace. 

Other than jeans and flats (a classic look), you could style this outfit with a pencil skirt, cigarette pants, denim cut-offs... anything! Your options are boundless.

I Can See Clearly Now

It happened. I now wear glasses. When I was in college, it became de rigueur to wear glasses as an accessory, even if you didn't need them to improve your vision. I had two pairs: dark-gray ombre cat-eye, and rectangular tortoise. The look was trendy, fun, and cheap. 

Now that I know the reality of wearing glasses, I still want to be trendy and fun (cheap is is virtually impossible when it comes to prescription eye wear). The "nerd" look is back in, so I went with a classic dark tortoise pair. I suppose that the specs suit my editorial work, but I made it through 8 years on the desk before the anvil fell on me.

What I can't get over is that I'm getting old. It's not just that you get wrinkles around your eyes as you age. The actual lenses of your eyes age too! Yes, that might be a naive statement, but I just never thought about it. I don't want to be old! Okay, yes, I do. I just want to retain my youthful fervor without realizing that I'm aging. Does that make sense?

Perhaps it's all in the mind... aging is part of life, and there's truly nothing you can do to stop it. However, instead of fighting against the inevitable changes, maybe we should embrace them. The most important thing in this whole scenario is that I can see more clearly now. Bonus: Thanks to my old eyes, I can relish a whole new type of wardrobe! 

I'm curious... How long have you worn glasses? How did you feel when you had to start wearing them? 

Pumped Up Kicks

Shoes: Wanted

I try to keep an open mind when it comes to fashion. Designing clothes, accessories, etc. is an art form. However, art is subjective. To each her own, as it were. So, I have to say that I really can't get behind a current shoe trend: sneaker wedges.  I jumped into the fray, and went to try some on today, but they just didn't work out.

Why? They make no sense to me. We women wear both styles of shoes for comfort, and they do their jobs well. A wedge gives you height, glamour, and some comfort. A sneaker gives you comfort and a cool air. There is no need to combine the two.

I felt the same way about cage heels when they were everywhere about 3 years ago. Today, I don't mind them so much. Yet, I don't think my mind will change on the wedge sneaks... No matter how many years go by. Maybe you have to be 17-at-heart to appreciate them. I'm playing the old lady card.

What do you think?  Are they a "do" or a "don't"?

Update: (5/19: Some vindication for my opposition! Lucky magazine agrees that sneaker wedges are over.)

My Little Bee

Welcome to Abeille! I dedicate this first post to my baby girl, who inspired me to write this blog.  While learning the ropes as a first-time mom, I looked online for support and encouragement. I discovered some great blogs, most notably  A Cup of Jo, which always gave me a positive place to go for honest discussion about the highs and lows of motherhood.  

Now, I didn't only just want to read about being a mother... I also wanted to find out what was going on in fashion, literature, art, photography, and food.  There are heaps of great blogs out there, and instead of just reading blogs, I thought, why don't I start one? So, after several months of thinking about it, here's my mine, Abeille.